summer fun

Since we are officially now on "holiday" I'm going to use more photos and fewer words. This is what we have been up to...

We invited some friends over to play so we took everyone down to the beach. In all the years of exploring these beaches I saw more through the eyes of these children than I had in my lifetime!

:: a purple sea star::

:: orange sea star ::

:: mystery fish?!? ::

This fish was discovered under a rock out of the water! There were beautiful orange eggs on the rock above. I have never seen this type of fish before, does anyone know if this a small lingcod? We returned him(?) to the water. I hope it found the eggs again when the tide came back in. We hope to look up more information on the fish when we find out what it is!

:: baby sea stars i hadn't seen them this small before! ::

:: a hermit crab without a shell!? something else new!? ::

Another new discovery for mama ~ weaving!

:: I tried weaving for the first time on my daughter's lap loom ... it's so much fun! ::

A summer tradition.....

:: preparing for strawberry picking! ::

:: washing the berries that we picked for jam! ::

:: a year's worth of jam that's made fresh with just the right amount of sweetener for only $1.50/jar! ::

We use Pamona's pectin to make all of our jams as it allows us to use any natural sweetener and add as little as we want! It can also be used to make your own fruit juice gelatin!

We have creative week ahead of us I'll be back to share soon!~ joey ~

Low Sugar Strawberry Jam recipe

~ makes about 11-12 cups

9 cups pureed strawberries (approx 5lbs)3/4 cup honey3/4 cup pure maple syrup3 1/2 tsps Pamona's Universal pectin5 tsp calcium water (included in Pamona's pectin)4 tsp grapeseed oilHow to make the jam:~ Wash and puree berries in a food processor. Put in large saucepan.~ Mix calcium powder packet with water in a little jar as per instructions on box.~ Add 5 tsp of calcium water to berry mix. Stir well. ~ Combine honey and maple syrup with pectin powder and wisk to thoroughly mix.~ Bring berries to a boil and add sweetener/pectin mix, stir vigorously to dissolve pectin.~ Return to a boil and then remove from heat.~ Fill canning jars and correctly can in a water bath.~ Let jars sit until cooled, jam sets as it cools. ~ Jam could be frozen at this point instead of canned.

* NOTE: these instructions are included in the Cooked Recipes - Low Sugar Jam recipe section of the Pamona's package. We have just tweaked the recipe slightly to accommodate our tastes. Correct canning methods are explained in the pectin box as well and should be followed exactly! Low sugar recipes cannot be sealed with paraffin wax.